Introduction by Chris Elliott..
We published news that Rauf Kasimov has arranged a Summer Concert at Karaman Church on Saturday 29th June at 6.00pm with his students playing and we are showing this profile of those involved and it will prove to be a concert full of piano talent.
Rauf Kasimov was born in Baku on the 28th October 1954. He is Russian. He speaks Russian, Turkish and English. Rauf Kasimov began his musical education at a private school in Baku in 1962. In 1978 he was awarded a Master’s Degree with Distinction from the Baku State Conservatoire as concert pianist and he received his PHD from the same conservatoire in 1980. Between the years of 1983-1986 he assisted the head of the piano department at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, Professor Dorensky, a world famous pianist and educator. He was awarded First Prize in the O’Shea International competition in Tiflis, Georgia in 1977 and again in Paloma, Spain in 1984. In 1980 he was awarded the Honour Prize at the M. Canal International Piano Competition in Barcelona. He had also many piano competition awards
Rauf Kasimov was appointed as a piano instructor at the Baku State Conservatoire between the years of 1980-1991.
He has been living in North Cyprus since 2005. He arranged many concerts in different countries and in North Cyprus. His students have won 30 international piano awards in ten years.
Rauf Kasimov was an adjudicator at the Pera International Piano Competition in Istanbul in May 2013.
- Pelin Ece Acar (age 16) She won seven International Piano competition prizes.
- Gokcen Mertoglu (age 20) She is a conservatoire student.
- Onur Zaifoglu (age 17) He has a Grade 8 piano diploma.
- Irem Bilen (age 12) She won two International Piano competition prizes.
- Sylvana I. Huges (age 11) She has a Grade 3 piano diploma.
Of his students Rauf Kasimov said:
“My students are everything to me.I just want to open the door to music for them. It’s an another world where not all bad things happen around us in real life. They are hard workers because we have to gain something for passing through this door. I am teaching them not only to play piano but to be honest, trustworthy and good people as well.
I hope their lives will be full of colour, happiness and bright minded experience.”
The concert will be on Saturday 29th June starting at 6.00pm and will feature the students of Rauf Kasimov.
The location is beautiful for this type of concert and a donation of 30TL is suggested and seats can be booked by emailing karamanchurch@outlook.com
